Category: Sustainable Fashion

Those of us privileged enough to think about what prices reflect still find little time to contemplate the implications of our purchases. We are too busy deciding if we like how a garment makes us look and feel given its price tag.

Let’s face it. At some point in our lives, we have bought a new clothing item for less than $10 off some clearance rack. As long as we can accept that, we can move on to admit that someone in that supply chain, whether the factory worker who sewed it or the retail employee who folded it a million times before it went home with you, got fucked so you can enjoy a seemingly sweet bargain. People can no longer deny the horrific reality of fast fashion: cheap production for low price tags. As it continues to surface with more global child labor operations exposed and mass producing factories going down in flames due to hazardous conditions, we need to seriously reconsider our buying habits.

The easiest way to change your impact is to buy second hand and sell unwanted clothes as often as possible. Style is not about what you wear but how you wear it, so getting the latest isn’t necessary. If you have a budget to enjoy new fashion design, however, the best way to contribute to conscious industry (small batch production and fair wages) is to choose pieces with a wardrobe building approach. This may mean spend more money on fewer unique, high quality pieces over time. If you choose wisely, they will integrate into your personal style regardless of the trends and fads of the changing times.

Supporting indie fashion brands is a quick way to stand out but more importantly it contributes to a healthier and more sustainable creative economy in which makers and movers of goods are all treated fairly. There is a satisfaction in wearing clothes that was meticulously crafted with care and attention to detail. This adds value to everything from your look to your entire clothing collection.

I recently invested in some wardrobe classics, a leather neck jersey knit halter tank, paneled microfiber leggings and a finely cut leather bolero. All are in black and were hand made in a small batch size runs. The top and leggings are both by an independent designer collaboration, Hilmer + Sparrow and the bolero is by the talented and very rare Shawna Hofmann. The construction and structural integrity of each piece is unparalleled and simply outstanding. All were purchased at the one and only Five & Diamond—a San Francisco design house and retailer. They weren’t cheap but worth every penny. I feel proud that my contributions helped sustain passionate craftsmen, designers and retailers.

Each opportunity to evaluate the significance of a material possession, Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo has taught us to ask ourselves this question: “Does it spark joy?” If the answer is no, then your wardrobe doesn’t need it and you shouldn’t buy it.

What if you could make children’s clothes for the purpose of handing them down across generations?

Sew Laurel Lee‘s work embodies this idea precisely. A New Zealand based fashion designer, Lee repurposes secondhand textiles into beautiful and timeless outfits for kids. Recently, she partnered with Kimono Kollab, a Singaporean reuse project, to repurpose vintage kimonos into adorable one-of-a-kind dress ensembles. Though clothes like this tend to have a fleeting wearability by one single human in childhood, its appeal is in the concept itself. Such upcycling in the fashion industry has already come into focus as an innovative way to create consciously and reduce waste, but for children’s clothes specifically the idea remains under-explored. Until this past decade, there have been fears surrounding fashion-izing children and what they wear but that was only a projection of adult insecurities about their kids’ futures. Just look at Japanese Coco Princess! Clothes don’t have to be gender specific to help kids feel great about themselves but it helps when they are unique. That’s where upcycling vintage bedding, clothes, homewares, costume and other decorative fabrics can swoop in and impress.

Just imagine cute little overcoats made from 1970s upholstery material. Or bucket hats reconstructed from 1980s marine themed bedding? Old school patterned pillowcases could easily become tops while antique tablecloth can be sculpted into high functioning tween overalls. The possibilities are endless.

If you’re looking to infuse character to the youths in your family while acquiring wearables consciously, Laurel Lee is available for custom orders through her site. Find her at http://www.sewlaurellee.com.